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This message comes from BetterHelp. BetterHelp is committed to making mental well-being a priority and offering support in taking on everything life demands. With therapists available to communicate via video, chat, or phone. At BetterHelp.com slash news. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen hedge fund manager Scott Besson to be Treasury Secretary, one of the last major unfinished cabinet nominations of the incoming administration. Trump announced it moments ago on his social media platform. Besson has become a key economic advisor to Trump's team and has in the past advocated for both tax reform and deregulation. If confirmed, the 62-year-old Besson would have the job of helping turn some of Trump's campaign promises into reality.
including the idea of putting in place across-the-board tariffs on U.S. imports. A challenge to the Texas law that outlaws abortion after a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected could be dismissed after a ruling from the state Supreme Court. Tolawani Osibamblo of member station KERA reports the law, which uses medical-sounding terms—
is misleading, according to some doctors. Planned Parenthood centers and other abortion rights advocates sued the anti-abortion rights group Texas Right to Life in 2021. The plaintiffs say the group was trying to organize lawsuits against providers seen as violating the Texas Heartbeat Act.
State courts rejected Texas Right to Life's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but the Texas Supreme Court has now ruled those courts failed to consider whether the suit has standing. John Sego is with Texas Right to Life. There's really no role for the judge. There's really no role for the court to stop us from doing anything or from trying to regulate our speech.
A lower appeals court must now decide whether the lawsuit can continue. For NPR News, I'm Toluani Osibamalo in Dallas. Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz says he will not return to Congress next year despite the fact he's withdrawn his name as President-elect Trump's Attorney General nominee. Gaetz took his name out of consideration as the nominee amid mounting fallout over allegations of sexual misconduct against him, allegations Gaetz has denied.
For decades, fluoride has been added to drinking water in many U.S. communities, but Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladopo wants that to stop. Stephanie Columbitti of member station WUSF reports he's issued guidance advising against adding fluoride to the water. Ladopo cites controversial recent studies that suggest exposure to high levels of fluoride is associated with lower IQ in kids. He spoke at a news conference streamed by local TV station Fox 13. It is public health malpractice.
to continue adding fluoride to community water systems. Florida Dental Association President Jeff Otley says those studies refer to levels of fluoride twice as high as what the U.S. recommends. He supports federal guidance for adding fluoride to water. As an effective, safe, and affordable method to prevent tooth decay across all age groups. President-elect Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says he wants to see fluoride removed from drinking water nationally.
For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Columbini in Tampa. On Wall Street, the Dow is up 426 points. This is NPR.
The only emperor penguin ever known to have crossed from Antarctica to Australia is now homebound. NPR's Amy Held reports the penguin, known as Gus, wandered into the hearts of Australians during his three-week rehab. Gus is going home, three weeks after the first emperor penguin found in Australia washed ashore, looking lost and malnourished, some 2,000 miles away from home in Antarctica. An Australian wildlife expert took him in and named him after the Roman emperor Augustus.
These penguins are the world's biggest and known to swim far for food, but they are susceptible to climate change as melting sea ice messes with their reproductive cycle. As for Gus, after resting and fattening up, Carol Biddulph, his caregiver, helped see him off in the Southern Ocean. Good luck, Gus. Oh, there he is. There he is.
There's his head. The goal is for Gus to get himself back home. I'll miss Gus. Vidov said he had spent a lot of time in front of a big mirror. She thinks because he was lonely. Amy Held, NPR News. A major weather system moving through northern California has left record rainfall and downed trees in its wake. The storm system has also prompted evacuations and knocked out power departments.
hundreds of thousands of people in Washington state and Oregon. National Weather Service has extended a flood watch for areas north of San Francisco as a plume of moisture known as an atmospheric river continues to flow. Up to 16 inches of rain is forecast in northern California and southwestern Oregon. Crude oil futures prices continue to move higher in part due to escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Oil up $1.14 a barrel to settle at $71.24 a barrel.
I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.
